I installed Mozilla FireFox 0.9 (well really an RC) recently. After a power outage I realized to my dismay that the browser would not start and would crash with an “access violation”. I traced the problem back to a preference being set (or not set as the case was). So a simple solution for people running Windows XP and Firefox is to browse to the following folder and delete the pref.js file in that folder. Restarting Firefox after the deletion should fix the issue.

I really like to have a bunch of windows open while I work and I hate small little windows that overlap each other and i have to scroll around to find what I need or the windows get lost in the mass of stuff I have open. Macintosh OS X has come to the rescue of cluttered desktops full of windows with their expose’ software. WinExplosion has released a version of this software for the Windows platform, but it is not free. I have also read very poor reviews of Winexplosion. However, there is a simpler and much more elegant and free solution for those of you using Windows XP as your operating system. For those of you have have worked with Mac OS X and have had the pleasure of working with Expose’, might be glad to know that there is a free version of this software for the Windows XP platform from the Aqua Soft forums. You can get it from here.
Works pretty well and it is active development, so it can only get better. Enjoy!

Did you know that colon cancer in human beings can be averted by taking regular trips to a “third world country” such as India and or anywhere in the Midlle or Far East? I find it very interesting for very personal reasons, but the diarrhea bug might prevent colon cancer! The toxins produced by this bug (Jennifer will know the inside scoop, I’m sure!) prevent the DNA of cells in the stomach and colon lining from being damaged. Not surprisingly, this study was funded by a major “stomach drug manufacturer”. Interesting stuff! Now to take more trips back home to India so I can grab a healthy handful of E-Coli on my way back!

On second note, there is another BIG virus (really a worm) out. It was discovered the day before. The various virus scanner manufacturers came out with fixes and scanner updates for this virus yesterday. This one is not as nasty in terms of destructiveness, but it sure spreads like wildfire. Why do people still click on attachments when they are not expecting one? (The university, Im sure, is flooded today) Please, please, please do not click on an attachment when you are not expecting to get one. As a matter of fact, if you get one, send an email reply to the person asking them if they really sent you something to look at. Otherwise, if remotely suspicious of the attachment, please hold down the shift key, and delete it.
This virus is dangerously close to the “Super Virus” that I have been talking about. There has been a lot of chatter on IRC of a “script” that does everything that every “successful” virus has done so far. The delay in the release in due to the size of the darn file. So this virus war is only going to get worse. Click here for more information on W32.Netsky.C@mm worm and removal tools (free) for the same.

I suggest also EditCSS which will load a site’s stylesheet(s) into the sidebar. You can then fool with the CSS all you like, and you will see the changes. Once you have discovered a fix or something that you really like, you can simply hightlight the CSS, copy/paste it into your stylesheet, and upload it to your server. It’s available through the same extension page as all the other FB/FF extensions. I’m using FireFox, and it works just fine.

Here we go again. I found a nice piece of software which lets you build a Windows XP installation on a CD. This is a wonderful tool for SysAdmins and other geeks. Imagine the possibilities for a College Computing environment. You could use any public machine on a college campus with all the rights of an administrator! This project was stopped by Microsoft and was taken up by this person/company. Here is the link to Bart’s PE Builder